[Verse 1: cold low male MC, over live drums and a minor-key guitar riff] Ten years gone, and the bus let me off on Pine Same corner, new store, same crack runnin' down the sign Got a list in my head, and the list got one name Benny Ward, apartment C, and a debt that never changed Benny gave 'em my address, and they kicked it in at dawn Benny got a brand-new truck, and I got ten years gone Walk the six blocks slow, let the city see my face Old heads on the stoop look away like I'm a case Crowbar in my coat, and it's heavy on the right Every step up to the building, I been steppin' it at night Three flights, same stairs, same onions in the hall Same door, apartment C, same fist hole in the wall [Verse 2: cold low male MC, closer, the bass guitar creeping] I could hear a TV playin' and a pot up on the stove Raised my hand up to the door like a man who's what he's owed Door swung open 'fore I hit it, 'cause the latch don't catch Little boy about eight with a cereal box and a scratch Behind him there's his mama with a spatula and a stare Said, "Who you lookin' for?" I said, "Benny, is he there?" She said, "Benny Ward? He left before we ever got the key Landlord said he moved down south, that's all he said to me And the door don't lock, it's been busted since the day we came" And I'm lookin' at the splinters, and the splinters know my name [Hook: cold low male MC, the riff hits hard] Who lives here now? Tell me, who lives here now? I came back to settle up, I came to put him in the ground Who lives here now? 'Cause the man I came to see Ain't the man inside the doorway, and the man ain't me [Verse 3: cold low male MC, the talking drum and shekere fall into a cross-rhythm against the kick] Little boy looks up and says, "You know how to fix a lock?" And the crowbar in my coat starts weighin' like a rock Ten years I carried one door that I never got to close Turns out it's right here, hangin' on one screw, and it blows So I took the crowbar out, and his mama took a step And I pried the busted strike plate off, as gentle as I could get Hardware store on Fourth, bought a deadbolt and a chain Spent the forty dollars that they gave me for the train Drilled it, set it, tried it, locked it, then I let it go Gave the boy the key, and showed him how to check it slow Benny's somewhere sunny with the truck he didn't earn And for the first time in ten years, I ain't got nothin' left to burn [Hook: cold low male MC, the riff hits hard] Who lives here now? Tell me, who lives here now? I came back to settle up, I came to put him in the ground Who lives here now? 'Cause the man I came to see Ain't the man inside the doorway, and the man ain't me [Outro: cold low male MC, over the talking drum] Apartment C, a deadbolt and a key Who lives here now? Somebody safe from me [End]
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